So .. who ordered Windows Vista beta 2 today?

[old.user4556]

I saw a news article on the BBC website about Vista beta 2 being released for a wider audience for either free download from MS or purchase of the DVD.

I had a look on the MS website, cost £12 delivered - worth a punt i thought, anyone else? (need to get a spare HD somewhere to install / test).

 

[TdC]

I saw a news article on the BBC website about Vista beta 2 being released for a wider audience for either free download from MS or purchase of the DVD.

I had a look on the MS website, cost £12 delivered - worth a punt i thought, anyone else? (need to get a spare HD somewhere to install / test).

tempted

 

[nath]

Free download though?

 

[old.user4556]

Three reasons:

1) big file 2) no DVD burner 3) wanted a proper, proper disc

 

[nath]

Oh I was asking for my purposes, not suggesting you do it.

Seems to be unavailable for DL at the moment though. Gunna try and run it on my 1ghz celery laptop - I don't rate my chances much :\

 

[old.user4556]

Ah yes, there will be a download for it; but i suspect since it's free it'll be absolutely whored like you wouldn't believe - plus they said they were limiting this release so perhaps it's maxed out already?

If it had been upwards of £30, i'd have just downloaded it but since you can buy a genuine copy (timebombed until June 2007 I understand) for £12 delivered, may as well pay the cash.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5059110.stm

 

[nath]

Well, I think I should be able to download it eventually - I've been given my product key but the download site is just not up at the moment.

I think I may have actually found a legitimate legal use for newsgroups - they're bound to post it there soon. There's already loads of copies, I'm just not which is correct. How long has this one been out?

 

[TdC]

Thank you for your interest in Windows Vista Beta 2.

We are currently experiencing a high level of demand and cannot process your request at this time.

Please check back later for availability. We apologize for any inconvenience.

bah :/

 

[nath]

Ditto. No sign of it on NG's yet either.

 

[Chilly]

lol, you are paying MS to test their shite software? You crazies.

 

[Earl]

It's been on torrent for the past few weeks (Beta2)...
So grab it there if MS have no bandwidth

 

[Chilly]

lies earl, the torrent is not whats released today. MS have had the customer technical testing version out for a while already, this is a newer build and brand new.

 

[Krazeh]

I heard it was exactly the same build as was released to developers and the like at WinHEC in latter end of may, 5384.4 i think. Should be easy enough to find on a torrent.

 

[nath]

Yeah, there's a beta2 that's on the NG's for 2 weeks but I figured it wouldn't be the new one.

 

[Earl]

lies earl, the torrent is not whats released today. MS have had the customer technical testing version out for a while already, this is a newer build and brand new.

Wrong Chilly, Beta2 that you can download today from microsoft is build 5384.4 which is available on many torrent sites and has been for a few week.

 

[old.user4556]

lol, you are paying MS to test their shite software? You crazies.

It's not like it's costing me £132458934532475234 is it?

It's £12 Chilly.

 

[rynnor]

Is there actually anything fundamentally usefull in Vista tho? It just seems like Microsoft are after their pound of flesh for no content this time?

 

[nath]

Wrong Chilly, Beta2 that you can download today from microsoft is build 5384.4 which is available on many torrent sites and has been for a few week.

Hmm - confirmation of that anywhere?

 

[old.user4556]

Yes, this beta 2 is the same beta that was out for developers etc.

It's just been released to joe public now. RC1 will be released shortly too.

 

[Draylor]

New shinyness rynnor.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, shinyyyyyyyy

 

[nath]

Oh, super. I'll nab it now then.

 

[Chilly]

It's not like it's costing me £132458934532475234 is it?

It's £12 Chilly.

Just like all those crazy frog scams only cost a couple of quid, some **** is getting rich of fools somewhere.

 

[nath]

Not excatly the same though is it. Jamster is a few quid a week. This is a one off £12 payment. If they're sending out the CD, how much would you expect them to charge? Sure they could probably get it cheaper but they have to cover their costs and it's not exactly an extortionate profit.

 

[MYstIC G]

 

[Earl]

Hmm - confirmation of that anywhere?

Check the URL when you try and download it... something like this:

http://download.windowsvista.com/dl/preview/beta2/en/x86/iso/vista_5384.4.060518-1455_winmain_beta2_x86fre_client-LB2CFRE_EN_DVD.iso

 

[nath]

It didn't get that far - but ta

 

[Whipped]

I certainly wouldn't pay £12 for a CD of an OS that will be buggy, have little or no known compatibility for software/games/etc. I'll happily download it, but paying £12 for something that you will then have to pay £200+ is just silly

I did get the beta of Office 2007 and although I haven't delved into any of the feature updates, the GUI update has really impressed me. I like it a lot and it seems very intuitive. Something I never thought I'd be giving Microsoft credit for

 

[Escape]

Download from here.

I'm down with the retro theme, but downloading 4.1GBs at 50kB/s doesn't fly

 

[old.user4556]

Just like all those crazy frog scams only cost a couple of quid, some **** is getting rich of fools somewhere.

Do you work in software development? You certainly don't sound like you do.

 

[Tom]

So what does this thing do, and why should I install it? My computer works fine.